Rain doesn’t derail Trucks by the Tracks

“I love food trucks,” Birmingham resident Daryl Washington tells Iron City Ink. “If you can't go to the restaurant, it's kind of like the restaurant comes to you.”

And on Sunday at Railroad Park downtown, Washington and several thousand other food truck lovers had every opportunity to indulge their passion.

The park was the site of the fifth annual Trucks by the Tracks event, which featured about 40 vendors offering every kind of food from pizza, barbecue, gourmet burgers and fried chicken to cupcakes, kettle corn, Italian ices and even dog treats.

Trucks by the Tracks is the biggest annual fundraising event for Railroad Park, Trucks by the Tracks went on as scheduled despite cloudy skies and occasional rain showers.

Most of the food trucks were set up on First Avenue South alongside the park, but there were several other vendors selling their wares from carts and tents inside the park.

There were lawn games and other activities set up. There was also live music at the park’s amphitheater, with such acts as Taylor Hollingsworth and Gabriel Tajeu scheduled to appear.

Washington, who was walking along First Avenue South, was eating pizza from Slice Pizza & Brewhouse. And that was not his first or only stop.

“I also got a scoop of peanut butter crunch [ice cream] from Big Spoon Creamery, and I'm about to go to Saw’s [Street Kitchen],” Washington said. “And I started at Heavenly Donut Company.”

Fiancées Wandra Brown and Rick Hill were along the other attendees enjoying the variety at Trucks by the Tracks, which they were both attending for the first time.

“It’s really, really fun,” Brown said. “We're just trying to do different types of food and taste the things that are out here.” Among the delicacies the couple had sampled were a shrimp and lobster roll and some steak garlic french fries.

Elizabeth Worrell was enjoying the event from a blanket spread on the grass of the amphitheater with her little girls Martha Rodes and Wyatt.

“It’s a really nice way to spend the afternoon with the girls, and so far, the food’s been fantastic,” she said.

The family had already sampled Buffalo tater tots from The Tot Spot, as well as some pizza, according to Worrell.

“And my husband is getting some ice cream,” she said.

“I’m loving it,” said attendee Steven Dudley, who had started things off with a sandwich from Eugene’s Hot Chicken and added, laughing, “I like all the food.”

Malissa Dancey, a recent transplant who moved to Birmingham from Atlanta three months ago, was playing corn hole with her little boy, Jackson. "We’re having lots of fun,” she said. “We're new to Birmingham, so this sounded like a fun thing to do.”

Several attendees also shared their affection for Railroad Park – one of the most popular destinations in the city since it was completed in 2010 – including Jim and Jocelyn Palmer.

The couple was sitting on a bench at the park’s 17th Street Plaza while Jocelyn enjoyed a grouper slider from Snapper Grabber.

“It’s a nice venue,” Jim said. “I love Railroad Park. We like the natural amphitheater. We come here for concerts, symphony, things like that.”

The Palmers said that it’s good for the city to host events like Trucks by the Tracks downtown. “We love urban life,” Jocelyn said.